


Possessed

by WayWardWonderer



Category: Ghostbusters (Movies 1984-1989), The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 23:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11679399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayWardWonderer/pseuds/WayWardWonderer
Summary: A powerful possessor eludes the Ghostbusters only to reappear unexpectedly and reek havoc on the team. The strength of the ghost pushes the four men to their limits physically and mentally as one of their own becomes victim to the malevolent spirit which threatens to claim his life.Cover art:  http://kt-jadeblaze.deviantart.com/art/Open-Your-Eyes-695556742





	Possessed

A long day spent on a single call had physically exhausted and mentally drained the two Ghostbusters intrepid who responded.

Dr. Ray Stantz had spent a week in London to spend time with an old colleague who could provide him with rare and valuable books on the supernatural, which left the team one man down. Winston Zeddemore had volunteered to meet Ray at the airport and pick him up, but the flight was delayed which meant Winston had to spent the entire day dealing with the 'fun' of airports and the disgruntled passengers either coming or going.

Dr. Peter Venkman slammed the passenger side door of Ecto-1 with anger as he wiped the sticky green slime from his face and hair. Drops of the irritating goo splattered onto the floor and sides of the car as he flicked his hands back and forth quickly. "Why am I the one who always gets slimed? Are you holding out on me Spengz? Do you have some kind of special slime repellent you're hoarding all for yourself?"

"To answer your questions," Dr. Egon Spengler exited the driver's side of Ecto-1 and gave Peter a scientific once over as he leaned against the hood of the now slime spotted car. "I'm not sure. No, I'm not. No, I'm not."

"Very informative Egon." Peter stared through the backseat window at the four smoldering traps secured inside. "Since when have Class-6 possessors taken up residence in the city? This is getting annoying."

"Unknown." Egon pressed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his right index finger. "And it is unusual. Possessors have never registers higher than a Class-3 until today. A week of possessors growing in strength must be pointing to a large event on the horizon. This is very disturbing, I'll need to examine the captured ghosts more closely."

"What about our unnamed Class-7 who escaped the theater? He can't just slime and vanish!" Peter had cleared the slime from his face but pieces still clung to his hair. "Shouldn't we be on the hunt for him? Or better yet, wait for Ray and Winston to get back and send them out instead?"

"The Class-7 entity was very strong and emitted a PKE signature that is foreign to all registered energy levels currently chronicled. It'd be unwise to search for said spectral anomaly without better understanding its nature." Egon pulled open the door to the rear compartment on the car. "Perhaps when we identify the possessor it'll choose to slime someone else for a change."

"Funny." Peter grumbled as he took off his black gloves that were thoroughly drenched in the slime. Dropping the gloves on the floor as he marched through the garage he muttered under his breath to Janine. "I'll be in the shower. No calls!"

Janine Melnitz was resting her chin against her palm as she sat behind her desk filing away the paperwork. As Peter passed be her desk, leaving a trail of slime drops behind him, she couldn't help but give him an unseen cheesy grin. "Bad call?" She asked Egon playfully.

"Not bad. Time consuming." He replied as he slung four smoldering traps over his shoulders, his hands holding the traps in place by the long black cables attached. "But Peter is right, we can't take on anymore calls until Ray and Winston return. It's too difficult to respond to ghost swarms with only two people currently available."

"So what do I say if someone calls in?" Janine asked as Egon crossed in front of her desk to access the opened stairwell of the basement.

"Tell them to call back later."

* * *

 

Ray sneezed once and blew his nose on the tissue he had stuffed in his jacket pocket. With his suitcase in one hand and massive black bag in the other he and Winston left the airport and wandered through the parking lot to find Winston's red pick up truck.

"Thanks for picking me up, Winston." Ray sounded a little congested as he spoke, and his nose was beet red from all the sneezing. "I know being stranded at the airport isn't any fun."

"Don't sweat it man, next time I fly out to Philly you can return the favor."

"No-" Ray sneezed again into his tissue. "No problem." He finished with a sniffle. "Just say the word."

"Why didn't you tell me you caught a cold? I could've brought you some medicine."

"It's not a big deal." Ray pocketed his well used tissue. "Besides, when you walk the streets of London during a rainstorm you're going to end up with a cold as punishment. I knew what I was risking."

"I still wish you would've said something." Winston helped Ray to lay his suitcase down in the bed of the pick up truck. Unlocking the doors he turned the key in the ignition and turned the heater up on high for Ray's sake. "Don't suffer in silence."

"I'm not suffering." Ray rebutted as he sat in the passenger seat of the truck and hefted the black bag in and onto his lap. "I just keep sneezing!"

"You sound miserable." Winston refuted as he pulled the truck out of the parking lot. "Sneezing and congestion can be a pretty nasty combination."

"If I develop a cough or fever then I'll take something for it. Until then," Ray opened the black bag on his lap and pulled out a time worn leather book. "I'll get some research done."

"I take it your friend got you some pretty useful material?" Winston noticed the childlike grin on Ray's face. "You seem pretty pleased with your haul."

"Oh yeah! These are some really old and priceless books!" Ray opened the book to its middle page and pointed to an illustration that has been faded from age. "Look at this, this is one of the earlier depictions of what we'd refer to as the 'Boogieman'. Back in the 16th century throughout Europe this was a goblin that was known to inhabit dark shadowy places in houses and in the forests."

"Looks sinister!" Winston gave the image a thoughtful glance as evening traffic came to a halt. "And familiar. We can confirm that the goblin they saw then is the boogieman we've confronted now."

"I got-" Ray sneezed again and sniffed hard to clear his sinuses. "I got even more books on more creatures. Nymphs, imps, shadows, goblins, possessors, curses, myths... You name it!"

Winston rolled down the window of his truck and leaned his head to check on the slow progression of traffic ahead. "Speaking of possessors, we've been pretty busy catching some powerful possessors as of late."

"Really?" Ray's mismatched eyes lit up with excitement as he fished through the black bag to locate a particular book of interest. "I have a massive tome that goes into great detail on the possessors and their proxies! I knew this would come in handy!"

"That's good, can you read through it and give me the highlights on what we're deal with?"

"Sure! As soon as I translate it."

"Translate?" Winston looked back at Ray and the book in his hands with an arched eyebrow in confusion.

"It's in Latin. It'll take a while." Ray explained casually. "And I'm a little rusty."

"From what I can see," Winston looked at the stalled line of cars ahead of his truck. "I don't think we're going anywhere anytime soon. You have plenty of time to catch up on your reading before we even get back the firehouse."

* * *

 

Peter walked out of the washroom with a towel wrapped around his waist as he ran a second towel over his dark locks of wet hair. The slime had been washed away but the acrid stench that creatures of the Netherworld carried still lingered despite his best efforts. Tossing the towel from his hair aside he looked down at his slime soaked jumpsuit laying on the bunk room floor and picked it up by the collar with one hand.

"The dry cleaners always charge extra to get the slime out." He grimaced as he carried the defiled garment into the washroom. Draping the jumpsuit over the shower curtain rod he turned away and sighed. "That smell takes forever to go away, too."

Still feeling dirty Peter looked at his reflection in the mirror over the sink and splashed cold water from the tap over his face. The water did little to aid him in his effort to seek some level of comfort as the pungent aroma of the slime stung his nostrils.

Patting his face dry with the towel he looked again at his reflection and let out a startled gasp as the face looking back was not his own. It looked similar but seemed unearthly, violent. Where his usually bright green, blue eyes would normally shine back were two red hollows filled with anger. His skin was a pale gray, his mouth twisted into an impossible wide grin of wicked malcontent.

Just as quickly as Peter saw the unsettling reflection it vanished leaving behind only the frightened, confused expression on Peter's own face looking back at him.

"Must be tired..." He told himself as he placed a shaking hand on the mirror and wiped it over the glass. "Getting a headache, too."

Opening the mirror to reveal the medicine cabinet within Peter took the bottle of night time ibuprofen and popped two pills out the bottle into his hand. After replacing the bottle he slowly closed the mirror and steeled himself as he anticipated the same upsetting reflection in the mirror to return. All was normal as the mirror clicked shut easily.

"Tired." Peter repeated as he down the two pills greedily. "Need to try and relax."

Returning to the bunk room Peter knelt down in front of the footlocker situated at the foot of his bed. Opening the lid he retrieved a clean black t-shirt, jeans and his back-up jumpsuit, which was a dark gray color as opposed to the usual color he wore. Slipping into his fresh clothes and zipping the clean jumpsuit he plopped down on his bed and pressed his face down into his fluffy white pillow. Exhaustion quickly overtook the psychically drained Ghostbusters. Peter fell into a deep sleep.

Down in the basement Egon had finished depositing the troublesome possessors he and Peter managed to capture while at the theater. The four possessors were stronger than usual but were captured just as any other spectral pest. The fifth possessor, the Class-7 entity that had slimed Peter, seemed to have disappeared from the theater once it became aware of the Ghostbusters and their ability to capture ghosts.

"Very strange." Egon remarked as he studied the PKE readings taken from the newly captured possessors. "In comparison to the fifth possessor these ghosts only exhibit a fraction of the same power. We must locate the Class-7 possessor before it causes any harm to the city."

With the PKE meter in hand Egon studied the recorded energy signature from the Class-7 possessor and measured its power to the other ghosts chronicled in the containment unit. A shrill beeping from the meter caught Egon off guard as it meant the device had picked up on the trail of the aforementioned signature.

"What? This can't be right," Egon attempted to tune the meter and check it for any errors, but none were to be found. "if the meter is currently detecting the possessor then that means it is somewhere inside the firehouse!"

Rushing from the basement with the meter guiding his every step Egon bolted through the garage and stopped in front of Janine's desk to continue reading the signal.

"Egon!" Janine had never seen the usual stoic physicist so excited. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

"Janine, it is possible that a very powerful ghost, a Class-7 possessor, could be lurking somewhere in the building."

"Are we in danger?" She asked as she bolted up from her chair. "What should I do?"

"Stay here." Egon informed her as he picked up on the signal emanating from somewhere on the second floor. "I'll attempt to track it down. Where is Venkman?"

"Dr. V is still upstairs. I think he's sleeping."

"Alright. Janine, I want you to stay here unless Peter or I call for you."

"Whatever you say Egon." Janine stayed behind her desk, her blue eyes wide with fright.

Squaring his jaw Egon marched up the staircase onto the second floor unsure of what to expect. Keeping the meter out at arm's length he pinpointed the energy signature stemming from somewhere within the bunk room. Worried for Peter's safety Egon approached the bunk room with slow, careful steps not wanting to provoke the unseen entity.

The meter chirped loudly as Egon entered the room, the high pitched sound however didn't seem to disturb Peter as he slept on his bed. The display on the meter peaked the scale as Egon stepped near the still damp puddle of slime on the floor of the bunk room.

"Odd." Egon noted as he knelt beside the slime on the floor. "The PKE levels should have greatly depleted after prolonged separation from the hosting entity. The readings are still very high as if-"

A sharp blow to the back of Egon's head sent the distracted physicist falling face down onto the hardwood floor with a heavy 'thud' as unconsciousness stole away his thoughts. Darkness overtook the bold Ghostbuster.

* * *

 

After dealing with the heavy traffic Winston and Ray finally returned to the firehouse. Parking the truck behind the old brick building Winston and Ray entered the building through the rear door, Ray's suitcase and bag of rare books in tow. There was an unusual tension in the air, as well as the lingering stench of the slime droplets on the floor, and the two returning Ghostbusters took immediate notice of the change. Setting down the suitcase Winston walked into the garage, entering from behind the small opened office space, and spotted Janine standing behind her desk with her wide eyes focused on the ceiling. She was trembling with absolute fright.

"Janine?" Winston called her name softly as to not further frighten the receptionist. "What's going on?"

"Winston!" She turned pressed a hand to her chest in relief. Seeing the brave marine instantly eased her fears. Ray walked up behind Winston and stood a few steps back. "Ray! You're both here! Thank goodness!" She rushed over to Winston and wrapped her arms around him, he returned the favor and tightened his arms around her shaking body. "Something's going on upstairs! Egon and Peter! I heard a crash!"

"What's happening?" Winston asked again. "Where are Egon and Peter?"

Ray walked up to Janine, stepping over the slime stains on the floor, he set down his suitcase and his bag as he put his hand on her shoulder. He looked toward the ceiling where she had been staring.

"They're both upstairs!" Janine answered quickly as she finally released her grip from around Winston's chest. "Peter was upstairs sleeping when Egon went to track down some kind of ghost on the second floor! Egon told me to stay here but it's been quiet ever since I heard that loud crash!"

Winston gave Ray a stern look. "Okay, you wait here while me and Ray check it out."

"I'll get the packs." Ray decided as he hastily made his way in the basement. He sneezed once and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt without breaking stride.

"Janine," Winston kept his voice level. "what went on today while we were gone? You said something about a ghost."

"Yeah," she stepped back and readjusted her glasses with a shaking hand. "Egon and Peter caught a bunch of those 'possessor' ghost things today and a really strong one got away from them. Egon found the trail of a strong ghost somewhere in the firehouse and went to investigate upstairs. I hope he's alright..."

Ray returned with two proton packs, one already on his back and the other in his hands to give to Winston.

"Don't worry Janine," Winston reassured her as he held out his arms so Ray could help him slip on the offered pack. "we'll handle it."

Powering up the thrower on his pack Ray headed toward the staircase. "Let's check it out." He sniffed as the urge to sneeze again hit him.

Winston jogged a few paces ahead of Ray taking the lead as he too powered up his thrower. Reaching the top of the staircase Winston and Ray approached the opened door frame of the bunk room and peered inside the dimly light room. Save for the green flashing light on the display of a dropped PKE meter the bunk room was illuminated only by the glow of the setting sun outside. The outlines of the beds and footlockers cast eerie shadows on the floor against the walls, a second outline on the floor was out of place for the normal interior of the room.

"Is that...?" Ray realized what the outline was and his heart began to race. It was a body. "Oh, no!"

Rushing into the room, paying no mind to what possible dangers still could lurk inside the shadows, Ray slid on his knees to the side of the downed man and put his hand on his friend's back. "Egon? Egon! What happened?"

Egon was laying on his stomach on the floor. His face was expressionless as he laid unconscious and defenseless. The flashing PKE meter was resting just a few inches out of reach of his cold fingers.

Winston followed after Ray, his eyes peeled for any sign of danger or imposing threat. "Ray?"

"He's breathing." Ray confirmed in a shaking voice as he pressed his hand down firmly between Egon's shoulders. Slipping his fingers to the sides of Egon's neck he pressed down lightly. "I have a pulse."

"Turn on the light." Winston instructed as he knelt down by Egon. "I'll check him over for injuries."

"Right." Ray slowly stood up and backed toward the door, his hand groping along the wall in search of the switch. Stifling another sneeze he tried to keep his movements as inconspicuous as possible.

Winston ran his hand down Egon's back and neck checking for spinal injuries with his trained fingers. Finding no dislocated disks or fractured bones Winston then checked Egon's head for any sign of trauma. Carefully Winston rolled Egon from his front, onto his side and over onto his back. A large bruise on the back of Egon's head was swollen enough for Winston to feel through Egon's thick locks of hair.

The lights overhead flashed on as Ray found the switch and returned to Winston and Egon. "How is he?"

"Unconscious. There's a large contusion on the back of his head, something or someone hit him. Hard."

Ray looked around the room and spotted Peter asleep on his own bed. He was laying face down on his pillow in a position similar to how he and Winston had found Egon moments ago. Fearing the worst Ray stood beside Peter's bed and pressed his fingers to the side of Peter's neck.

"Peter?' Ray called his friend's name sternly. "Peter!"

"Huh? What?" Peter lifted his heavy, groggy head up from his pillow. His eyes were bleary and red from his deep sleep. "Ray? What's going on? When'd you get back?"

"Are you alright?" Ray asked sincerely as he watched Peter slowly sit upright on his bed.

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Peter answered with a sleepy yawn in his voice. He quickly noticed Ray's red nose and his congested sounding voice. "You look a little rough, though. Why'd you wake me up?"

Ray glanced over his shoulder as turned his attention back over to Egon still laying on the floor. Winston was kneeling vigil beside the unconscious physicist, his hand resting on Egon's chest as he measured his friend's breathing and heart rate.

"Egon!" Peter was suddenly wide awake with panic. Scrambling from his bed he joined Winston as Egon's side. "What happened to him?!

"We thought you could tell us!" Winston replied with an uncomfortable tone.

"Me? I was asleep!"

"How'd you sleep through this? Something, or someone, attacked Egon and knocked him unconscious."

"I took some sleeping pills and knocked myself out!" Peter defended bitterly. "I had a nasty headache, and I didn't hear a thing!"

Ray bent down and picked up the PKE meter and used his sleeve to wipe at his nose again. Checking the final recording on the device he stared with pure awe at the display as the unusual and dangerous energy signature was something that neither he or Egon had encountered in the past.

"Wow! Whatever Egon was looking for is STRONG." Ray remarked in pure astonishment. "And it looks like it was here. In the bunk room."

"Here?" Winston gave Ray and uncertain stare. "Where?"

"Close." Ray responded as he switched the PKE meter from its memory system and back into active mode to resume scanning the room. A high pitched whine emanated from the meter as it returned to its primary function. "I don't like it. Something's very wrong here."

Peter put a hand to his head as he looked down at Egon. Winston noticed that Peter seemed a little out of it. "You alright?

"...Head still hurts." Peter confessed as he let out a deep breath. "Pills didn't help."

A low groan of pain drew both Peter and Winston's attention back down to their injured colleague.

"Is he waking up?" Peter asked impatiently.

"Not sure." Winston patted the side of Egon's face lightly to check but didn't receive any response to the direct contact.

A high pitched whine from the PKE meter in Ray's hands echoed loudly through the room. While Ray tried to hone in on the source of the disturbance Peter put his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to block the irritating sound as it easily aggravated his headache.

"What is it?" Winston was immediately on guard. "The ghost?"

"Yeah." Ray turned on his heels as he attempted to locate the dangerous entity. "And it's somewhere in the room with us."

Winston rose up from his kneeling position and retrieved his thrower from its sheathe on the pack. "Then we'll get it."

The PKE meter continued to screech as Ray waved the device around the room.

"Ray!" Peter complained sorely. "Turn the volume down! You're killing me here!"

"Sorry Venkman," Ray ignored the request. "can't do that."

"Please?" Peter bowed his hand and ran his hands up from his ears and into his hair. "I can't... I can't take it!"

Winston didn't like the way Peter looked. Every fiber of his being as both a marine and paramedic told him that there was something more troubling Peter than a mere headache or possible reaction to a couple of sleeping pills. "Peter, you sure you only have a headache? You seem a little-"

Peter's hand suddenly reached up and grabbed at Ray's arm in a viscous snare. "Turn it off!" He begged in a pained voice as his body began to shudder with that very pain that weighed in on his infuriated pleas.

Stunned by the aggressive outburst Ray could only look down at Peter in concerned dismay at his friend's violent reaction. "Peter? What's the matter? Talk to me!"

Slowly Peter turned his gaze upward. His face was pale, eyes burning with a supernatural glow and mouth twisted into an impossible grin. " **I SAID TURN IT OFF**." His voice was grating like a hoarse growl as he spewed forth rage filled words at Ray. "NOW."

"Peter?! Peter let go!" Ray tried to take a step back but Peter's grip was too strong. Held in place against his will Ray dropped the meter as his hand weakened with shaking fear. Crashing to the ground the meter shut off and the screeching alarm silenced itself. "Peter, you're hurting me!"

" **NOT PETER**." Was the sinister response that came from the psychologist as he stood upright, his hand's grip tightening into a vice on Ray's arm. " **I AM ENUTRIET**."

"What's wrong with you?!" Ray shouted as he tried desperately to pry Peter's fingers from his arm. Small bruises were already forming on Ray's skin from where Peter's fingertips pressed into his flesh with an improbably strong grip. "Stop it! Let go!"

"Back off!" Winston warned threateningly as he pointed the thrower at Peter's chest. Placing himself between where Peter stood and where Egon laid he kept his aim focused on the center of Peter's chest with a unflinching stare. "I'm not playing around!"

"Winston, don't do it!" Ray shouted instinctively as his reaction was to protect his friends before ever targeting any spectral anomaly. " What're you thinking? You'll hurt Venkman with that thing!"

"Ray, I think I know where that missing possessor is hiding." Winston admitted with a heavy tone as he held the thrower steady in his hands. "We may not have a choice."

Peter's unbreakable grip on Ray's arm only seemed to tighten as he took one large step closer to his captive. Winston's finger hovered over the trigger on the thrower, ready to open fire as a last resort to protect Ray if necessary. Unwilling to move from his protective position he had taken over Egon, who was still completely defenseless on the floor, Winston could only wait for Peter to make his next move.

"Peter?" Ray continued to try and reason with the now possess psychologist. "You don't have to do this, let me go and fight back against the ghost. You're strong enough to resist it, we've seen you do it before!"

The hand on Ray's arm seemed to relax for a fleeting moment before regaining its initial grip.

"Peter!" Ray tried again. "Don't let it-"

Angry and fueled by supernatural power Peter was able to easily throw Ray across the bunk room with a single, swift motion. The unprepared engineer was helpless against the strength of the possessor. Slamming hard against the far wall, the proton pack still strapped to his back taking the brunt force of the impact, Ray gasped as the breath was torn from his body. Sliding down against the wall and onto the floor he pressed a hand to his chest as he gasped for air.

With Ray now out of the line of fire Winston took his shot and struck Peter in the chest with the powerful proton stream. "Peter! Fight it!" He shouted as he root his boots to the floor to keep himself from losing his balance or aim.

Peter was pushed backward on staggering feet. The angry possessor snarled and protested as the weapon held it at bay inside Peter's body. Peter crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to block the winding proton stream and free himself from the ionized beam of energy.

"Peter!" Winston shouted again. "Snap out of it!"

In response to the firm commands by Winston and the proton pack Peter lashed out with both arms, a pulse of strong PKE energy surging from his possessed body. The pulse was able to deflect the proton stream causing it to rebound back toward Winston disabling the thrower and knocking it out of his hands as he too was sent flying backward across the room.

"Winston!" Ray panted in a hoarse voice as he struggled to catch his breath.

Winston landed hard on his side landing beside Egon's outstretched legs. The proton pack shut itself off as it overheated, letting out a warning alarm and vented the built up steam.

Peter, whose body had been taken by the possessor, loomed menacingly over the three downed Ghostbusters with a wicked grin of triumph that could only be emulated by the impossible smile which has twisted Peter's face into the caricature that it had become. A smoldering black crater had been burned into the fabric of the jumpsuit in the center of Peter's chest, courtesy of the proton stream.

" **DO NOT FOLLOW**." Peter hissed as an ethereal glow covered his body in a yellow aura of psychokinetic power. Unable to move from where they laid Ray and Winston could only watch as the possessor used its immense power to levitate Peter up from the ground and crash through the glass of the window in the bunk room.

"Peter?!" Winston called out the glass shattered, raining down onto the floor and the street like a shining rain. "No!"

Winston pushed himself up from the floor and sprinted to the broken window. Looking through the broken glass he frame watched as Peter's possessed form took off into the evening sky and disappeared from sight as the ethereal aura consumed his body, causing it to fade from sight behind psychokinetic shield of energy.

"I lost him..." Winston lamented as he back away from the broken window. Bits of glass were ground into the floorboards beneath his heavy boots "He's gone. That thing, 'Entriet', took him!"

Ray struggled to stand up as he continued to try and take a deep breath. "We'll find him. We have the possessor's signature recorded." He extended one arm outward toward Winston as he wrapped his other arm around his chest. "We just need to find a way to separate the possessor from Peter once we find him."

Winston let Ray leaned against him as he finally caught his breath. "What about Egon? He's still out of it!"

Letting his arm drop from Winston's shoulder Ray watched as Winston put his arm under Egon's shoulders and lift the unconscious physicist's head up from the cold floor. "Can you help him? Maybe we should take him to the hospital."

"I'll see if I can get him to respond and regain consciousness. If he stays out for too much longer we'll need to let a doctor examine for a possible skull fracture and concussion."

Ray could see the red warning lights on Winston's proton pack and knew that his own pack hadn't fared any better during the brief confrontation. "We need to swap our packs. I'll go let Janine know what's going on, you stay here with Egon."

Winston unclipped the support strap for the pack from around his waist and let Ray slip it off of his shoulders. "I don't think it'll do any good to use a proton pack again. Peter, or whatever that thing is that's using Peter's body, managed to break free and send me flying like I was nothing."

"Then we'll just have to get more creative." Ray decided as he hefted the second pack up his arm and onto his shoulder. "And I know just where to look for inspiration!"

* * *

 

Peter found himself floating weightlessly in a dark void of silence and nothingness. Regaining a sense of awareness he opened his eyes, standing upright on an invisible floor as he attempted to gain his bearings.

"Interesting." He noted as he gazed about the void that had become his new environment. "This feels familiar."

A cold wave of energy surged through the void and sent a chill up his spine.

"And angry."

" **YOU ARE AWAKE**." A hoarse voice called out as a figure appeared before Peter. " **IMPRESSIVE**."

"Not really, I wake up every morning. Not that difficult."

" **YOU RESIST ME**." The figure took on a hauntingly similar appearance to that of Peter. " **HOW**?"

"You clearly don't know who you're messing with, pal." Peter crossed his arms defiantly as he gave the possessor an disinterested glance. "This is my mind ans my body, no one controls it except for me!"

" **YOU ARE MORTAL**." The possessor sneered bitterly. " **YOUR RESOLVE WILL BREAK SOON ENOUGH**."

"Doubt it." Peter protested confidently. "If a demon or a broken heart can't take me down then there's no way a passing spirit like you can even make a dent."

" **PERHAPS NOT**." The possessor admitted with an amused snarl. " **BUT YOUR FRIENDS WILL SHATTER LIKE BONE**."

"Fat chance!" Peter wasn't intimidated by the ghost. He and the rest of the team had been threatened by countless other spirits, each threat a hollow insult. "You clearly haven't met my friends."

" **I HAVE**." The possessor insisted. " **LOOK AT YOURSELF. YOU FRIENDS WERE WILLING TO DESTROY YOU TO GET TO ME**."

Peter looked down at himself and noticed the blackened charred fabric of his jumpsuit clinging to his t-shirt beneath. Pressing his fingers to the burn on his chest his eye betrayed the emotion that had welled up inside.

" **YOUR FRIENDS ARE AFRAID**." The possessor taunted with a sick glee. " **THEY WILL DO ANYTHING TO STOP ME. EVEN IF IT MEANS HARMING YOU**." It's aura grew in strength and brightness. " **I AM INSIDE YOUR MIND. I KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW. I KNOW OF YOUR TECHNOLOGY AND YOUR TRICKS. I KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND I KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSES**."

Peter's eyes flashed with resentment for only a moment before steeled determination began to shine through. "They're more courageous and resourceful than you think. In the end, you'll be taken down you loud mouthed shell!"

" **WE SHALL SEE**."

* * *

 

Winston had managed to lift Egon up from the floor and place him down on the top covers of his bed. Mindful of the bump on the back of Egon's head Winston had kept his movements very controlled and precise. Egon was laying on his back barely moving. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell rhythmically with his steady breaths.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor stole Winston's attention from Egon and to the opened door frame where Janine had passed through with alarm in her eyes.

"Ray told me what happened!" She all but blurted as she joined Winston at Egon's bedside. "How's Egon? How're you? Where's Dr. V?"

"Egon is still out of it, he has a nasty bump on the head. I'm fine just a little banged up and Peter... Well, he's gone."

"That ghost did this, didn't it?"

"Yeah. Looks that way."

"Ray's trying to find a way to locate that ghost as we speak." Janine gave Egon a thoughtful look as she spoke. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Some ice would be great." Winston accepted her offer. "And thanks Janine."

"No problem." She hustled out of the bunk room to retrieve the requested ice and a bag to put it in.

Winston picked up Egon's arm and measure his pulse at the wrist. "Aside from the blow to your head you seem to be in perfect health Egon."

"Here." Janine handed the bag of ice to Winston. The bag had been wrapped in a towel to prevent the melting ice from dripping water or from causing discomfort from the extreme cold temperature. "I'm going to see if I can help Ray."

"Thanks again, if I need anything else I'll call."

Gingerly Winston pressed the towel and ice against the bump on Egon's head. Hopefully the ice would reduce the swelling of the bump and perhaps be enough to revive Egon from his state of unconsciousness.

"We need you back with us sooner rather than later, man." Winston encouraged kindly to his downed friend.

Ray was sitting behind Janine's desk with a large book in his hands. The book was as aged and worn as the others Ray had brought back in his collection, but it was key into identifying the possessor that had taken Peter. The Latin inscriptions would in fact take time to translate, just as Ray had already warned Winston on their way back to the firehouse.

Letting out a loud sneeze Ray took a tissue from the box and focused in on the worn, yellowed pages between his fingertips.

Janine spotted Ray with his eyes intense as he began reading through the book, mentally translating each word as he read. Deciding against interrupting his train of thought she retreated to the kitchen and prepared a kettle to make some fresh tea.

"Let's see ' _capta est_ '..." Ray thought out loud to himself. "means 'taken'. And ' _corporis_ ' is body. Sounds like a possessor. The answer must be here!"

Without a word Janine walked over to her desk and set down a steaming mug of herbal tea for Ray. Clearing some paperwork from the surface of her desk she gave the studious Ghostbuster additional room to work and read.

"That's strange. _'Limus_ '? That roughly translate to slime!" Subconscious Ray took the tea and sipped it while keeping his attention on the book. "Hold on; ' _animarum homicidii_ '? Taker of souls. This is bad."

Looking away from the book he stared at the slime stains on the garage floor.

"What was that word the possessor said? ' _Entriuet'_?" Flipping through the pages of the book Ray honed in a certain article of interest. "Oh boy... This is big."

Upstairs in the bunk room Winston looked down at his watch, the face having been cracked when the ghost tossed him across the room made it a little difficult to read the time but not impossible. "It's been at least twenty minutes." Pulling the ice from Egon's head he checked the injury again relieved to see that there was no blood in Egon's hair from the wound. "I think we'll have to take you to the hospital."

A weak hand reached up as if trying to gain Winston's attention. "...Winston?"

"Egon!" Winston's relief was as palpable as it was loud. "Nice to see you awake!"

"How long was I unconscious?" Egon asked as delicately pressed his opened palm to the back of his head. "I remember something struck me in the back of my skull."

"I can't say for sure, but anywhere from thirty to forty minutes. Are you dizzy or nauseous?"

"No." Egon replied honestly as he carefully propped himself upright on his elbows, one hand still rubbing at the bump on the back of his head. "Only a headache."

"Hopefully not like Peter's headache." Winston couldn't help but quip.

"Peter? Peter!" Egon looked over to Peter's bed only to find it empty. "Where is he?"

"Take it easy!" Winston cautioned as he put a hand on Egon's shoulder to help hold him steady. "He... The possessor..."

"The possessor took him. Didn't it?"

"Yeah." Winston nodded slowly. "It did."

"And the possessor used Peter to strike me."

"Peter did this to you?" Winston was visibly startled by the revelation. "But he said he was asleep when you were attacked!"

"He most likely was asleep. The possessor must've taken him while he was unable to defend himself. It used Peter as both a host and as a weapon."

"How do you know it was Peter who hit you? How do you know it wasn't the ghost itself or the ghost using something else to hit you?"

"Because I distinctly remember feeling the sting of hard knuckles striking me in the back of my skull. I was hit with a very real, very strong fist. Not an energy source or stationary object."

"Make sense. That possessor was able to give Peter some pretty impressive strength. He threw both me and Ray across the room and even managed to break free of a proton stream."

"Fascinating." Egon's eyes narrowed as he began developing a theory in his mind. "If the possessor was able to enhance Peter's own natural strength it makes sense that Peter's physical form would be able to resist the proton streams and allow said possessor to elude capture. It would also be wise to assume that the possessor now has acquired all of the knowledge that Peter holds."

"So what do we do? How do we capture something that knows every way we could possibly catch it? We can't just attack the possessor, we'd kill Peter in the process."

"We build a new trap." Egon answered flatly. "It's the only way."

"Guys! Guys!" Ray came racing up the staircase with the book in his hands. Almost sliding to a stop beside Egon's bed he nearly thrust the book into Egon's hands. "Thank goodness you're awake!" He quickly gave Egon a reassuring pat on the back. "I think I found out who our possessor is and why it's here!"

Stifling a sneeze Ray held the book out as to allow both Egon and Winston to look on and observe the information that the old leather tome contained. The yellowed pages were dry and the ink was fading, but each word was still legible though unreadable in its current Latin iteration. Contained in a expertly detailed illustration on the neighboring page that accompanied the information was that of a demonic looking spirit; it had a twisted face, burning eyes and an impossibly broad smile.

"Look familiar?" Ray asked as he handed the book over to Egon. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall beside the bed. "It took a while but I managed to translate a majority of the chronicle."

"This is the possessor who has claimed Venkman as its vessel?" Egon inquired as he scanned over the words, his own ability to translate Latin into English was also fairy rusty. "It's called... 'Entriet'."

"'Sustain'." Ray translated the name coldly. "How darkly appropriate for a body stealing leech."

Winston leaned down to take a look at the image of the identified ghost in the book. "It addressed itself as Entriet before rushing in Peter's body. I wonder if it's trying to bait us."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Ray gave Winston an agreeable glance. "The level aggression of this possessor could be indicative of either intelligence or destructive tendencies. From what I've read about this menace I'd go with the latter."

"I concur." Egon handed the book back to Ray. Adjusting his glasses and pushing through the incredible headache that had set in he continued to offer his opinion on the subject. "I believe this possessor targeted us for a reason."

"Why's that Egon?" Winston asked as he carefully studied Egon's eyes and body language for any sign of concussion or other internal injury. "Why us?"

"As the only team of paranormal investigators and eliminators currently functioning in the world," Egon explained slowly and casually as did his best to ignore his headache. "the possessor would recognize us as its only threat. Perhaps that is why it sent weaker class possessors to challenge us before showing itself. It was gauging our strength and analyzing us as a potential threat to whatever it has planned."

Winston followed Egon's reasoning expertly which only raised one more interesting question. "And after confronting you two it decided to choose Peter as its vessel. Why did it take Peter?"

"As stated earlier, it would had gained access to Peter's knowledge on the equipment and our methods."

"Yeah, I get that. But I mean why did it pick him and not you? In fact, it seemed to have gone out its way to try and keep you out of the picture."

"Hmm..." Egon didn't have an answer though he did begin pondering the question with deep thought.

"Maybe it wasn't drawn to Peter's knowledge," Ray suggested with a bleak look in his eyes. Pointing to a line in the book he transcribed the sentence in a firm tone. "it says here: _Usurper animarum, moriendum corporum, destructor hominis: Entreit trahitur, ut dominentur et superbia. Qui trahit forma eius erit vita ducatur ex eorum vas_." Ray looked down at Egon who paled at the words read before translating. "Which roughly means: Usurper of souls, taker of bodies, destructor of man; Entreit is drawn to dominance and pride. Those who draws its form shall have their life drawn from their vessel."

Winston felt a child run down his spine. "Entreit is going to use Peter's body and then... kill him."

* * *

 

Peter was steadfast in his belief that his colleagues would come to his aid. Refusing to give Entriet the satisfaction of seeing him sweat or even flinch in the face of danger Peter crossed his arms defiantly, concealing the smoldering burn on his chest in the process, and stared into the burning abyss that was the possessors soulless eyes.

"Is this all we're going to do?" Peter sounded as bored as he was annoyed. "I hate waiting games."

Entriet lifted his hand and within his opened palm a small ovular shaped aura of purple appeared. Through this aura Peter was able to see the world through his own eyes, through his own body once again. The dark void in which Entriet had isolated him was the deepest fathoms of his own mind and consciousness.

"I know this place." Peter tried to turn his physical head but couldn't shift his vision. He could only look on as Entriet continued to pilot his stolen body. "We're back at the theater. Why's that? Matinee screening?"

" **THIS IS WHERE I LIVED**." Entriet hissed angrily. " **THIS IS WHERE YOU SHALL DIE**."

"Dying's not really my style." Peter brushed off the threat without so much as batting an eye.

" **YOU ARE MORTAL. DEATH SHALL COME FOR YOU, I WILL ENSURE IT**."

* * *

 

Winston helped guide Egon down the staircase and into the deep basement of the old firehouse. Taking step to ensure the concussed physicist didn't collapse from a dizzy spell or a sudden drop in blood pressure from the severe blow to his skull, the seasoned marine kept tight vigil on his injured friend.

"You sure you want to do this?" Winston kept his hand on Egon's shoulder while making sure Egon walked at a slow pace. "You were out for a long time and are still suffering from the effects of your head injury."

"I will be fine so long as I don't physically exert myself." Egon reassured Winston as he sat down at the workbench on the opposite wall of the containment unit. "If I can adjust the proper frequency of the ionization trap we should be able to draw the possessor from Peter's body without harming his body in the process."

"Wouldn't that require a lot of power to separate incorporeal energy from corporeal cells?"

"Indeed it would." Egon flashed Winston a smile for his in depth knowledge on the situation at hand. Unlike Peter it seemed Winston was more inclined to actually take time out of his day to study and to do some research. "Which means the power levels will be very limited. We'll only have one chance to use the modified trap to capture the possessor and free Peter."

"If we don't succeed on the first try?"

"Then the possessor will have gained more insight into our methods and will be able to compensate accordingly."

"Then let's make it count." Winston shook his head and looked at the opened stairwell of the basement. "I'll go let Ray know you're working on the trap. If you need anything..."

"I know." Egon subtly nodded then flinched as the slight motion was enough to upset his headache. "I'll call for you. Thanks Winston."

Egon watched as Winston disappeared up the stairs and out of the basement. Placing his hands to the sides of his head Egon leaned down against the surface of the workbench, shut his eyes tightly and breathed through the intense pain that he had been denying as it burned through his entire skull. Peter was in danger and he is Egon's best friend. There was no way the determined physicist was going to sit idle despite his own injury.

Joining Janine by her desk Winston decided to check in on their receptionist. She was fiery and brave but even she could be shaken when things got dangerous for the Ghostbusters.

"How're you holding up Janine?"

"I'm okay. Just a little... shaky. How's Egon?"

"He's hanging in there. I'm certain he has a concussion but if he is suffering he won't admit it. And Ray's still fighting off a small cold, so... yeah, we're going to need to be careful with every move we make."

"Are you okay Winston?" Janine's blue eyes were full of empathy and kindness. "You don't need to carry the full weight of the team on your shoulders, you know?"

"I know." Winston gave her a confident grin. "But with Egon and Ray down and Peter M.I.A., I don't have much of a choice. I don't mind, it kind of reminds me of basic training. Except I'm not getting yelled at or doing push-ups in the mud."

"Sounds fun!"

"Better than a weekend in Hawaii." He teased playfully.

"I wouldn't know."

A loud sneeze from the rec room on the second floor made both Winston and Janine look up the landing above. Ray was studying the leather tome and trying to properly translate each word as accurately as possible.

"I should make him some more tea." Janine decided. "I'll make some for Egon, too."

"I'm going to see what I can do to help Ray out, hopefully we can find a way to free Peter without having to do anything crazy."

Ray was sitting at the small round table with the old book opened with the detail surrounding Entriet and three other books, each containing differing Latin dialects, resting nearby. Ray's nose was red from blowing his nose, his eyes all watery from sneezing and his face looked a few shades paler than normal.

"Find anything out, Ray?" Winston asked as he pulled out the chair opposite Ray and sat down.

"Not yet." He sounded congested and tired. "Egon working on the trap?"

"Yeah. He said whatever he comes up with will have a very limited power supply. We have to make it count."

"That's a confidence builder." Ray sniffled in an attempt clear his stuffy nose. "We really have our work cut out for us."

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

Janine walked into the small room with the tea for Ray. "Thanks Janine." She stood by the table and listened in on the conversation curiously until the rest of the tea was finishing brewing.

Winston watched Janine set down a steaming mug of tea for Ray without losing his train of thought. "If you're sick, I mean really getting sick, then maybe you should hang back."

"What? And leave you and Egon to take on a Class-7 possessor without me?" Ray gingerly sipped the tea and grimaced as realized he couldn't taste it. "Not a chance!"

"And if you collapse from fever then I'll have to deal with Peter's possession, Egon's concussion and you being unconscious. That's a little too much."

"Aw, come on! I thought you marines were tough!" Ray quipped with a sly grin.

"And I thought you doctors were smart enough to get out of the rain."

"Touche."

Janine placed her hand over Ray's forehead and felt for a fever. "You're a little warm but I don't think it's serious." The kettle began to whistle which meant the water had finished boiling. "After I take Egon his tea I'll bring you some ibuprofen as a preventative measure."

This time Winston thanked Janine. "Thanks Janine! You're a peach!"

Pouring the hot water from the kettle into a mug with a teabag already at the bottom, Janine dipped the tea by its attached strong until the water was saturated in the herbal mix and smelled of fresh chamomile. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything else."

Winston continued. "Seriously Ray, we can't drag you out for this if you're not strong enough to handle it."

"I'll be-" Ray sneezed midsentence, burying his face into the crook of his arm in the process. "I'll be fine." He finished. "Once we get Peter back then I'll move dealing with this cold to the top of my priority list." He set aside the mug of tea. "Until then we need to focus on Peter and finding that damned ghost!"

Janine quietly walked into the basement with the tea in her hands. She spied Egon working at an unusually slow pace as he set to modifying the strength of the ionization trap. He was wearing protective tinted goggles as he used a condensed yet powerful soldering iron to enhance the circuit board on the side of the trap. The blue glow of the soldering heat cast Egon in an eerie pale light that gave the physicist a 'mad scientist' look.

"Egon, I brought you some tea." Janine announced her presence before standing beside the workbench. She turned her gaze from the bright light not wanting harm her eyes. "It seems to be helping Ray's cold, maybe it'll help your headache."

Egon didn't break his concentration. The soldering iron continued to sing its song as Egon pressed the scorching hot iron to the metal circuitry otherwise concealed within the side panel of the trap.

"Well, it's sitting right here if you want it." Janine set the mug down on the shelf just above the workbench. "It's chamomile."

No response from Egon as he continued to focus on his work.

"Nice talking with you Egon. I'll be upstairs at my desk if you need anything."

Egon couldn't bring himself to acknowledge Janine simply for the fact that his headache was nearing migraine levels of pain. The bright flare of the soldering iron, the pungent smell of the hot metal, the metallic sounds scrap together; it was proving to be too physically taxing for his already aching head.

"Check this out, I think I found a way to lock up Entriet." Ray pointed to a single passage on the bottom of the page regarding Entriet. "Let's see... _Ad sigillum procul hoc foeda bestiae sanguinis sacrificio hostiam esse debet amissus ad tenebras_." With each word read Ray's face pale and tone lowered as heavy emotion weighed down his voice.

"Ray?" Winston didn't like the emotional drag in Ray's voice, nor the distant look in his eyes. "What does that mean? What does it take to stop Entriet?"

Clearing his throat Ray closed his eyes as he translated the Latin inscription as accurately as he could. "In English it says: 'To seal away this foul beast a blood sacrifice of the host must be lost to the darkness'." Ray opened his eyes and stared intently at Winston. "It means if we want to stop Entriet for all eternity we... we have to... destroy the host while Entriet is still in possession. We must... kill Peter."

"No!" Winston was adamantly against the very idea. His chair scraped across the bare wood floors loudly as he stood up and slammed his hands down on the table. "We can't kill Peter! We won't!"

"I know!" Ray was just as determined as Winston not let anything bad happen to Peter. "We need to get that trap functioning, and now!" He looked down at the book and slammed it shut with a grim facade. "We're not going to let him die!"

Peter breathed deeply as the timeless dark void that was his own mind seemed to grow ever darker and ever deeper with isolation. Entriet had disappeared from Peter's line of sight, leaving the stubborn psychologist completely alone in the expanse of his own thoughts.

"It's quiet." Peter remarked. He was surprised that his voice didn't echo through the vacant space as he spoke. "I hate quiet."

The purple aura created by Entriet manifested once again giving Peter a window back to the outside through his own eyes.

"Now what?" Peter studied the surroundings that Entriet had taken as its sanctuary. "Still in the theater. But why? What's so special about this place?" He put a thoughtful hand to his chain as he tried to remember the local history of the theater. "I sure hope it wasn't built on top of an ancient Indian burial ground."

Through his stolen eyes Peter took in the bizarre scene as Entriet seemed to be hovering above the ground, over the dirty and damaged stage that was still in need of repair since their initial bust earlier that morning. Entriet wasn't moving, as if it was tired or trying store energy.

"What're you up to?" Peter wondered righteously. "You were too eager for a fight just moments ago, now you're waiting for... something. But what?"

Peter thought back to all of the bizarre actions taken by Entriet, as well as its words and twisted logic.

"Wait... You want the guys to find you. You want to the guys to confront you. What will you gain by picking a fight?"

Ray and Winston joined Egon in the basement. The physicist was finishing up the final details on the modified trap. Slowly Egon pull the goggles up and away from his eyes as the soldering iron had been turned off and set down on the workbench.

"Finish it?" Winston asked as he and Ray stood beside the workbench.

"I believe so." Egon's eyes were glazed over slightly and he sounded exhausted. "If my calculations are correct-"

"And they usually are!" Ray interrupted positively.

"If my calculations are correct," Egon continued as he adjusted his glasses over the bridge of his nose. "then the enhanced power of the trap should be enough to separate the possessor from Peter's body. If we get the trap close enough and set it off then it'll draw the Entriet from with Peter without causing any physical harm in the process."

"That's good." Ray picked up the trap from the workbench. "And we have the possessor's energy signature still on record in the PKE meter. We find the possessor we'll find Peter, we find Peter we set off the trap and we free him from the possessor's control!"

"Yeah," Winston rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. "about that. Egon, Ray discovered some... upsetting information in his book regarding Entriet."

Egon slowly stood up, his head swimming and posture unsteady. "What's that?"

"As it turns out," Winston began explaining slowly. "we can stop Entriet permanently, but in order to do so..."

Egon could tell from Winston's tone of voice that whatever the requirement was it'd prove fatal to Peter. "We won't lose Peter to this creature." Egon closed his eyes and put a hand to his head as the pain and dizziness was becoming almost unbearable. "We'll save him."

"Are you okay?" Winston put a hand on Egon's shoulder and guided him back down to the seat by the workbench. "You look pale."

"Dizzy." Egon admitted. "My headache has not let up."

"Take a moment to rest." Winston urged. "Between your head injury and Ray's cold we'll need to take it easy."

"You're correct." Egon admitted again. "I'd like to lay down for a few minutes."

"Come on, I'll help you to the rec room." Winston took one of Egon's arms and wrapped it around his shoulder while Ray did the same with Egon's other arm.

"That tea Janine made helped me feel better," Ray mentioned offhandedly. "maybe it'll help you, too."

"While I appreciate the gesture," Egon again closed his eyes as dizziness washed over him. "I doubt that tea will aid in the recovery process of a concussion."

Moving slowly Winston and Ray helped Egon walk up the staircase and into the rec room. Easing Egon down onto the couch Ray and Winston helped him to lay down in an attempt to stop the dizzy spell and perhaps lessen the headache.

"Need anything, Egon?" Ray asked as he again sneezed, using his arm to contain his germs. "Water? Aspirin?"

Janine joined the trio in the rec room with bottle of ibuprofen in her hands. "Here Ray, sorry it took so long but iy was rolling around lost in the bottom drawer of my desk."

"Perfect timing." Ray took the bottle and popped two of the pills into his mouth before offering two more to Egon. "Try this, I know skull injuries are almost impossible to deal with."

"Thanks..." Egon took the pills from Ray and swallowed them almost greedily without even opening his tired eyes. "As soon as you two are ready to leave let me know."

"Relax Egon." Winston gave Ray a subtle nod. "We still want to do a little more research on this possessor before we take off."

Ray caught the hint and played along. "I brought back a lot of books from my trip to England, it might take some time."

Janine discreetly watched as the two Ghostbusters planned their next move from the distance.

"Don't overlook the details." Egon cautioned as his body began to relax on the couch. "The trap will work, we will save Peter. But we can't afford to look past any potential weaknesses or strengths that Entriet may use to its advantage."

Ray and Winston retreated to the small table with the books and sat down together, keeping their voices low as to not disturb Egon.

"Do you think the trap will work?" Winston whispered. "I trust Egon with my life, but I don't trust concussions."

"I'll double check his work before we leave." Ray whispered back as he watched Janine gently pull Egon's glasses from his face, fold the frames and leave them sitting on the table beside the couch. "But you know as well as I do that Egon isn't going to stay back no matter how much he's hurting. He and Peter have been good friends for years!"

Winston nodded. "Let's give him an hour to rest. That should be enough time to check the trap."

* * *

 

Peter stared through his stolen eyes as Entriet hovered in silent meditation over the stage. The powerful ghost was harboring a secret, a deeply personal reason for its return. A secret Peter was determined to learn.

"So are we just going to hang here all night or what? You don't need me to hide in the darkness and be uninteresting."

Entriet returned to Peter's mind a burst of purple ethereal energy. " **SILENCE**."

"Not a fan of silence. Or waiting. Or dying. Or bees."

" **YOUR TIME WILL COME**."

"Uh-huh, can you think of anything more cliche? How about 'Silence fools!' or 'You shall rue the day!'?"

Entriet unleashed a blast purple energy that struck Peter in the chest. He fell to his knees and shuddered as he struggled to catch his breath. "How... How c-can you... hurt me?"

" **I CAN DESTROY YOU**."

"Yeah, that p-part I get." Peter exhaled slowly before inhaling again as a means of steadying his breathing. "But how can you hurt me... physically... when I'm only conscious... mentally?"

" **THE TIES THAT BIND**."

"The life line..." Peter shook his head. "A spiritual connection between body and soul that tethers one to the other during out of body experiences." He arched an eyebrow and gave Entriet a smug look. "Ray's going to be thrilled to know his theory is correct."

Entriet snarled angrily as its intimidating tactics failed to threaten the skilled psychologist.

"Now, answer me this." Peter pushed himself up from the ground and dusted the charred fabric of his jumpsuit from his chest. "Why is this theater to special? It's not just because this is where we first met, although I have to admit I'm a suck for sentimentality, there's something else. Is this where you died? No, wait!" Peter put up his opened hand as if to silence the Entriet. "There was some kind of ritual that took place here, my guess is... one hundred years ago, and this ritual had some crazy cult that sought to bring about the end of the world. You don't seem to be one of Gozer's lieutenants so I'm going to go ahead and guess that you're part of the crazy cult that was a crazy cult before Gozer was cool. Am I right?"

Entriet flashed Peter an impressed grin. " **I AM**."

"So... Where you from?"

" **I AM IMMORTAL. I AM A BEING THAT IS BOUND NEITHER BY TIME OR SPACE. I AM PART OF THE VOID**."

"The void? As in the space between space? Now I get why you didn't pick Egon, he'd be trying to scan you and asking you hundreds of different questions. good call."

" **THE VOID SHALL SPREAD." Entriet hissed. "ALL SHALL BECOME ONE AND ALL SHALL BECOME NOTHING. ALL LIFE SHALL BECOME DEATH, DEATH SHALL LIVE AGAIN.** "

"So you're going to bring about the end of the world, and you're going to alter the balance between the planes of existence to disrupt the natural flow of life and death? I reiterate: cliche."

" **YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST TO DIE**."

"Good, because as I said before: I hate waiting." Peter crossed his arms as he continued his analysis of the situation, gauging Entriet's responses to determine how accurate he is to the truth. "This theater was built on top of some ancient altar, right? But the ground is still ripe with evil joo-joo and malicious intentions which makes it the ideal place to bring about the end of the world since New York is seething with negative energy. I've seen this movie before and I know how it ends."

" **PREPARE YOURSELF**." Entriet steadily faded from sight. " **THE END DRAWS NIGH**."

"Again with all things cliche!" Peter lamented. "I'm glad I die first... At least that will be original!" He continued to taunt Entriet despite its departure. "Better me than my friends..."

* * *

 

Ray had set to work inspecting the modified trap in the basement while Winston checked the undamaged proton packs to ensure the three packs were at optimum power levels. Janine had taken the liberty of watching over Egon as he slept, hoping the rest would take the edge off his headache and decrease the distraction of the incredibly painful concussion he had suffered courtesy of Entriet using Peter's fist against the back of his skull.

"What do you think Ray?" Winston asked he hefted two of the packs up over his shoulders. "Did Egon succeed in the modification?"

"Yeah, it looks good." Ray approved of the modification and hoisted the third pack up while carrying the trap. "I think overheating is the going to be the biggest threat, but as long as we're quick and accurate everything will be okay."

"Should I wake Egon?"

"Nah," Ray and Winston walked out of the basement together. "let him sleep a little-" A sneeze cut Ray off midsentence again. "excuse me. Let him sleep a little longer."

"What about you? That cold of yours seems to be getting worse."

"I'll survive." Ray sniffed hard as he and Winston opened the rear compartment of Ecto-1. "Like I said, after we get Peter back then I'll focus on my cold."

"You better, I don't want to catch whatever it is you have and I don't want Egon or Peter getting sick after everything they've been through."

"Hey! You're making my sound like 'Typhoid Mary'!"

"Sorry, just being honest."

"Yeah, I know." Slamming the compartment shut Ray looked toward the staircase and sighed. "I'll get the PKE meter from the bunk room. You deal with Egon."

"Afraid to wake him up?" Winston laughed.

"No, I'm afraid I won't be able to look him in the eye. I don't want him to think I don't trust him."

"Do you trust him?"

"Of course I do! I already said that!" Ray rebutted somewhat offended by the question. "It's just... With Peter in such great danger..."

"The concussion. I know." Winston gave Ray an empathetic pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, we'll be there watching each other's backs from beginning to end just like we always do."

* * *

 

Peter steeled himself warily as he felt Entriet struggling to maintain full control over his stolen body. It seemed the ancient entity was strong but time had slowly sapped that strength and made it increasingly difficult or the possessor to retain complete control. The purple aura that offered Peter the opportunity to look out through his own eyes, though unable to control what he sees, was waning in energy and clarity. Power was being consumed quickly without any means of replenishing it.

"Tired are we?" Peter taunted boldly. His eyes were shining with determination and his voice was even toned. "I don't blame you, keeping up a facade in the face of impending defeat can be a real morale breaker."

Entriet didn't return to Peter's consciousness to offer a retort or even a threat. A deep growl echoed through the dark void as Entriet responded from the physical world.

"Thought so." Peter could sense the possessor's control weakening. "This is going to be fun to watch! Thanks for the prime front row seat to the action! Three mortal men taking down an 'all powerful, all knowing immortal deity'. I guess I just can't escape anything cliche today. Makes me appreciate originality all that much more."

The shadowy interior of the theater remained in tact as Entriet hovered ominously above the ground. It seemed Entriet had a plan but what that plan was had yet to be seen.

"No answer? Good. You're a boring conversationalist." Peter mocked openly without an ounce of fear. "At least this way I'll finally figure out what the hell you're up to."

* * *

 

Winston helped Egon carefully walk down the staircase and over to Ecto-1 and sit down in the backseat of the iconic hearse. The physicist was still drowsy but whether or not the lingering fatigue was a result of the concussion or his brief slumber couldn't be proven either way. Egon's eyes were closed and he had a hand pressed to his temple as the headache hadn't lessened to a more bearable degree as he sat down gingerly without a word or complaint.

"You sure you're up for this?" Winston asked as he leaned inside the car to speak to Egon with a lower, quiet volume to his voice.

"Yes." Egon sounded tired but his deep voice was still firm as he understood and answered the question. "We must do this for Peter's sake."

"Okay then. Sit tight, Ray should be down with the PKE meter soon. The modified trap and proton packs are all loaded up and ready to go already."

Egon could only respond with a very subtle, slow nod.

Closing the car door with controlled force to keep it from slamming or rocking the hearse Winston turned to look at the staircase just as Ray began his descent. The PKE meter was in his hand and his face was buried in his free arm as he concealed yet another sneeze. "Got it!"

"Thanks..." Winston stepped back and let Ray drop the meter down inside the front passenger seat of the car. He didn't want to catch Ray's cold, let alone touch the possibly germ coated device. "Let's suit up."

"Yeah, I'd hate to answer a call without a jumpsuit, it just feels so wrong!" Ray commented playfully. Egon had remained in his jumpsuit after the call he and Peter had taken that morning.

Janine was sitting on the edge of her desk with her arms folded defensively over her chest, watching the two Ghostbusters slip their uniform like jumpsuits over their street clothes in front of their respective lockers. It was a strange sight to see only two Ghostbusters preparing for a call while a third was sitting in the backseat of Ecto-1 in an uncharacteristically quiet manner. And with the fourth member of the team nowhere to be seen it gave her an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Be careful guys!" Janine called out as Ray and Winston returned to the parked hearse.

"We will!" Ray responded confidently with a wave as he took his seat in the front. "And we're bringing Peter back with us!"

Winston took his place in the driver's seat of the car while giving Janine a wave of his own. He turned over the key in the ignition and pulled Ecto-1 out of the garage and onto the street. Keeping the siren off to spare Egon some pain from the irritating sound, the lights flashed brilliantly through the dark city streets the car raced through the city ready to confront the possessor and rescue their missing team member.

Ray turned on the PKE meter and switched the frequency to track the recorded energy signature of the possessor. "Turn left." The intuitive engineer pointed Winston in the proper direction. "Wherever this 'Entriet' freak has gone, at least he's still in the city."

"I can't decide if that's good or bad!" Winston quipped dryly.

"I'd wager bad." Ray replied as he stifled a sneeze. "Seeing as Entriet is a being that originated long before Gozerian cult had been established in the city, I believe that this possessor is a creature that has thousands, possibly millions of years of insight and untapped power at its disposal. Not fleeing the city, currently the only city that has a team of paranormal investigator/eliminators, means whatever this ghost has planned is confident."

"Perhaps not." Egon's quiet voice spoke up from the backseat. "It took Peter as a means of studying us to analyze our own strengths and weaknesses, yet while I was unconscious and vulnerable it didn't take the opportunity to eliminate me. There must be an underlying purpose to taking Peter."

"Like what?" Winston asked curiously.

"It's possible that time had weakened the possessor rather than strengthen it. Perhaps it required a vessel in which to sustain itself because it had lost a significant amount of power."

"...And Peter was able to give it stability long enough to enact a new plan to save itself." Winston understood Egon's logic and theory. "If he needs Peter to continue its existence then all we have to do is separate the two and Entriet will disappear."

"Turn right here," Ray instructed calmly. "but what is its plan? From what I read this possessor used to be one of very many different entities both worshiped and feared by ancient man; just like Gozer. What makes this possessor unique and why did it manifest now?"

"Unknown." Egon admitted feeling suddenly dizzy.

Winston looked at Egon's reflection in the rear view mirror with worry. "The sooner we deal with this the sooner we can all sit back and relax."

"We're getting close." Ray noted just as the PKE meter started responding to a very strong, very near signal.

Egon looked out the window of the hearse and recognized the location. "This is where Peter and I responded to a call earlier this morning. This is where we caught the multiple possessors and lost track of Entriet. They spawned inside the old theater."

"So we're being lured to the original manifestation point." Winston gave Ray an inquisitive glance. "Did your book say anything about the theater or its original landmark?"

"Yeah, actually. Apparently Entriet was drawn to exuberant activity and densely populated areas. An old shrine was rumored to have been built out of stone and marble to honor the many wandering spirits throughout the entire East Coast, but no records of its construction or exact location survived over the centuries of change and social evolution."

"Maybe the rumor is true." Winston suggested as he caught sight of the theater down the block. "Maybe there is a shrine that had been buried by time but is still intact beneath the foundation of the theater."

"Sounds plausible." Egon adjusted his glasses and flinched as pain pulsed through his skull. "Regardless of the cause of Entriet's return we must prioritize freeing Peter. Afterward we can analyze the area and determine Entriet's intended goals."

Pulling Ecto-1 along the sidewalk the hearse was parked, its lights turned off, and the three occupants climbed out of the car to stare at the ominous location with a healthy dose of intimidation.

"He's in there." Ray switched the PKE meter's settings from Entriet's signature over to Peter's biorhythms. The frequencies were in the same approximation of one another. "Peter and Entriet. They are both inside."

Egon stood behind Ray and glances over the engineer's shoulder. "It appears the two frequencies have synchronized into a single reading. Entriet is still in possession of Peter's body."

"Not for long." Winston declared as he opened the rear compartment of Ecto-1. Pulling the mobile storage rack outward from the hearse Winston prepared the three proton packs for use and checked the power levels on the modified trap. "We're going to trap that possessor and this time it's not going to get away from us."

* * *

 

Entriet sneered wickedly with glee as it sensed the arrival of the Ghostbusters. Channeling its dwindling psychokinetic energy the bitter possessor covered the walls and ceiling in an aura of purple light that filled the air with a static charge. Small jolts of purple electricity flashed and surged over the room as Entriet focused its full attention on the approaching mortal men.

The doors of the theater opened slowly by an unseen hand to invite the intrepid Ghostbusters to the impending chaos within.

" **IT BEGINS**."

* * *

 

Equipped with their proton packs on their backs and the modified trap clipped to Ray's belt, he, Winston and Egon all walked into the theater together with the intent to confront Entriet and free Peter's body from the malevolent specter's possession. The psychokinetically charged room continued to glow with the ethereal purple light as Entriet patiently waited for the arrival of the three mortal men who dared to challenge it.

Winston lead his colleagues into the theater with the thrower of his pack in hand and powered up. "Entriet?" He called out sternly. "We know you're here. Let Peter go and we won't take you down."

Ray and Egon stood on either side of Winston and watched as Entriet hovered down from its midair position and set foot on the floor of the theater.

Keeping his movements slow and inconspicuous Ray unclipped the trap from his belt. Using the long black cable attached to the trap he lowered it to the floor and set down behind his legs out of sight.

Entriet could sense every movement taking place in the theater, it could sense the Ghostbusters preparing to make a move. Taking the initiative Entriet lifted his hand and unleashed a wave of powerful energy that sent the three Ghostbusters flying across the room and slamming hard into the walls with no means of protecting themselves.

Winston managed to recompose himself quickly, pushing himself up from the floor with his arms and making it back to his feet in a matter of seconds. Egon was left dazed and unable to regain his balance. The concussion was taking its toll on his body. Ray took notice of Egon's distress and chose to aid the physicist knowing that Winston would be able to handle the situation alone until Egon regained his senses.

"Egon? Look at me!" Ray knelt beside Egon who was laying on his stomach with one hand pressed to the side of his head. "You're going to be okay, just take it easy!"

Winston bravely stood his ground and aimed the thrower at Entriet, knowing that Peter acting as the vessel would be harmed it was a better alternative to Peter being killed. "Wrong answer!" Opening fire the proton stream snaked around Peter's body and held Entriet in place, unable to resist the stream now that much of its strength had been sapped due to time. "Release Peter! Now."

Entriet snarled loudly while continuing to flash its impossible grin.

Through his own stolen eyes through the dark void Peter watched as Winston held Entriet at bay while Ray tended to Egon, who was clearly injured and too stunned to defend himself.

"Egon!" Peter called out to his friend. His voice was unable to break through the void and reach out to his colleagues. "Hold on! We'll get you out of here!"

Ray helped Egon to sit back against the wall and hopefully keep him out of harm's way during the final confrontation. Joining Winston with his thrower ready Ray opened fire with his own proton stream and positioned himself accordingly to kick the trap over to Entriet in an attempt to draw the possessor out of Peter's body.

Entriet, sensing the plan in motion, directed its intense gaze at Ray and reached outward swiftly with one hand and pressed its palm and fingers to Ray's forehead in a strong grip. Ray's body froze and the thrower dropped from his hands as he fell prey to Entriet's power.

"Ray!" Peter and Winston called out in chorus, although only Winston's voice could be heard.

Ray's eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp under Entriet's grip. His face paled as Entriet seemingly drew Ray's life energy from his body.

"Ray!" Winston fought the urge to shut off his proton stream and help his unconscious friend. Glaring angrily at Entriet Winston demanded the possessor to stop everything it was doing. "Let him go! What did you do to him?"

Releasing its grip Ray fell to the ground in a collapsed heap.

" **KNOWLEDGE**." Entriet hissed with wicked triumph, the room glowing bright with rejuvenated energy. " **I KNOW OF YOUR TRAP**."

From within the dark void of his own consciousness Peter witnessed the event and felt his blood begin to boil. "And now so do I!" Focusing his mind and using all of his knowledge of the human psyche to his advantage Peter devised a little trap of his own. "And there's always a back-up plan!"

Entriet found the additional strength needed to break free of the single proton stream. Redirecting the power back toward Winston the lone Ghostbuster was stunned by the backlash of the stream and fell to his knees in both shock and pain.

" **MORTAL MEN**." Entriet threatened with a venomous tone as it lifted a hand toward the courageous marine. Taking steps toward the downed men Entriet prepared to finish off his only resistance to conquering the world and merging the two planes of existence. " **YOU SHALL PERISH AND I SHALL** -"

Entriet suddenly silenced as Peter's body tensed. Unable to move forward Entriet could only utter a faint protest. " **NO... YOU CANNOT** -"

"Guys!" Peter's voice finally broke free of Entriet's control. "The... trap!"

"Peter...?" Winston asked in a low voice. "Is that you?"

"I don't... I can't hold him back... much longer!" Peter explained as he fought against Entriet's power. "Use the... trap!"

Winston didn't trust the being that stood before him. It was Peter's body but it was consumed by an ethereal entity. Two distinct and unpredictable personalities were now vying for control over one body. One body, two voices. Which voice could be trusted.

"Peter... How do we know it's really you? How do we know it isn't a trick!"

Peter's body shuddered as he fought against Entriet with every ounce of mental reserve he could muster. The strain of fighting back Entriet was visible in ever limb of Peter's trembling body, the blood that began running down his chin as Peter bit down on his own lip harshly. "S-Spengz! You have to help... Spengler!"

"...Peter?" Upon hearing Peter's voice call his name Egon was brought back to his senses. Looking up with glassy eyes he saw the carnage that Entriet had wrought. Winston was left alone to fight while Egon himself and Ray were easily incapacitated by the vicious entity. "Peter!"

"Spengz?" Winston looked back over his shoulder to the far wall where Egon was resting. Peter had addressed the physicist with the nickname Peter had given him back in college. Turning back to Peter, who was losing the battle against Entriet, Winston chose to trust the psychologist who was still somewhere buried deep inside under the influence of the possessor. "Trap out!"

With a weak but precise hand Winston managed to slid the trap from its position just a few inches from Ray's legs and over to where Peter's body was frozen in place. Smashing down on the release trigger the top doors of the trap burst open with a beam of intense ionized light. The ionization beam was immediately drawn to the incorporeal energy that saturated corporeal cells of Peter's physical body.

In dual voices Entriet and Peter cried out in pain as the possessor was torn from Peter's body and ensnared in the powerful trap resting at their feet.

As soon as the ghostly figure of Entriet was encompassed in the ionized light and pulled free from Peter's body Winston slammed the release trigger on the trap a second time and sealed away the possessor, freeing Peter from its control at last.

The purple ethereal glow of the room dissipated as its energy source was cut off by Entriet's capture.

Peter's body fell to his knees in a silent mass. Just as he began falling backward Egon managed to make it to his side and catch him before his head collided with the hard dirty floor of the theater.

Winston's strength was returning as the effect of the proton stream began wearing off. "Egon! Is he...?"

"I've got a pulse!" Egon confirmed as he wrapped his hand around Peter's wrist to measure his pulse. "And he's breathing."

Egon held Peter up from the floor while Winston tended to Ray. "They're both out of it." He rested his hand on Ray's chest and counted the slow respiration of the downed engineer.

"Peter?" Egon lightly patted the side of Peter's face before using his thumb to wipe the blood away from his lips and chin. "Peter, can you hear me? Entriet is gone, you're safe now."

Peter's eyes fluttered opened partially. Staring up with a blankness he looked at Egon and forced a grin to his face. "Egon. You look terrible." His words were slurred by fatigue but still carried his humor well.

"Speak for yourself."

"Ow..." Egon looked over, spots dancing in his vision, as Winston helped Ray to sit upright on the floor. "My head is killing me."

"Join the club..." Peter quipped.

"Peter!" Ray's enthusiasm was palpable. "The trap worked! Is everyone okay?"

"No." Winston put his hand on Ray's shoulder. "You were drained by that ghost, Peter was possessed by that ghost and Egon was attacked by that ghost. You three need to take a trip to the hospital."

"Are you hurt?" Ray asked sincerely.

"Nah, I'm a marine, remember? We're tough."

Careful of his balance Ray stood up from the floor on shaky legs and offered his hand to Peter to take. "Let's go. I've spent too much time away from home, I forgot how much I miss it. And you guys!"

"Sounds good to me." Peter accepted Ray's hand but didn't have the strength to stand up, nor did Ray the strength to pull him up.

Winston helped Peter up to his feet and then assisted Egon. Slinging the modified trap over his shoulder he nodded in approval as his three weary colleagues attempted to cross the room and make it back out into the fading daylight of the natural world outside.

The four men exited the theater very slowly, each man helping their colleague traverse the the layout of the building and climb into the back of Ecto-1.

"I'll drive." Winston insisted as he helped Ray sit in the front passenger seat before helping Egon and Peter into the back. "Let's get out of here!"

-Two Days Later-

Once at the hospital Egon was admitted for observation after being diagnosed with a concussion, while Peter was admitted for observation in the event his prolonged exposure to the psychokinetic energy of Entriet resulted in any form of lingering psychosis. Ray was examined but found to be in normal health save for his mild cold, while Winston was in perfect health despite being thrown around and struck with proton energy.

Ray and Winston had deposited Entriet into the containment unit without further incident. A little research into the city's founding as well as the various cultures that had left their influence on the developing civilizations along the East Coast confirmed that Entriet was a returning spirit drawn the abundant energy of the millions of souls congregating in New York City.

Had it been successful in eliminating the Ghostbusters the bitter possessor would've been able to summon legions of other possessors to inhabit the bodies of the unprotected citizens and create a powerful enough army of spirits to create a shift in the balance on energy between the planes of the living and the dead.

Feeling refreshed and without any pain the two hospitalized Ghostbusters were eager to change from their hospital gowns and back into their normal, comfortable clothing.

"Ready to get back to the firehouse?" Peter asked Egon as he slipped on his black t-shirt over his head. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some actual food and not the weird slop that the hospital tries to pass of as food."

Egon adjusted his glasses before standing up from the edge of his bed. "Yes. I've grown tired of spending my time playing memory games with the nurses." His dizzy spells had mercifully ended the day before. "I rather enjoy looking through a microscope rather than being examined under one. I'd also like to analyze the data Winston and Ray have collected during our absence."

"Too bad you couldn't impress all those pretty nurses by memorizing their phone numbers!" Peter teased his bachelor friend.

"What makes you think I didn't?" Egon quickly responded with a light tone.

"Can I have some?" Peter asked slyly wanting only to see Egon's reaction. "We could double-date!"

"Hey guys!" Ray walked into the room gleefully with Winston at his side. "Nice to see you up and about again."

"You ready to go?" Winston asked as he dangled the car keys from his fingertip. "You've already been medically cleared and discharged."

"You have no idea!" Peter happily marched toward the door of the room with Egon at his heels. "And Ray can buy us lunch!"

"Why me?

"Because Egon and I are getting out of the hospital today, which means it's a special occasion." Peter explained casually. "And it was Winston who took charge of everything while we were all down and out." Peter leaned against Winston's shoulder as a sign of good faith. "So, Winston gets a free pass this time!"

Ray smiled sheepishly. "Alright, lunch is on me! But nothing fancy!"

**-The End**


End file.
